NEW YORK, May 6 (UPI) -- Infants exposed to television and video in poor homes tend to have limited verbal interactions with their mothers, a U.S. study indicates.

The study, published in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, suggests the use of educational programming alone does not promote co-viewing -- having both mother and child view programming together.

Dr. Alan L. Mendelsohn of the New York University School of Medicine says the conclusions are particularly significant because parent-infant interactions have a major impact on early child development, as well as success in school advancement and adolescence in general.

Ninety-seven percent of mothers with 6-month-old children reported their infants were exposed to television or radio at the median rate of two hours a day.

"Our concern is that parents may still perceive educational programming as enough of a reason to park their infants in front of the television, instead of co-viewing and interacting with their infants," Mendelsohn says in a statement. "Passive viewing does not lead to interaction between infant and mother."

--
Copyright 2008 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
--